Silence Is Golden ???

Time is too slow for those who wait,
too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grieve,
too short for those who rejoice,
but for those who love, time is eternity.

~ Henry Van Dyke

Silence may very well be golden when it comes to wanting alone time to meditate. Silence is not golden though when it comes to the heart and a silent heart attack. Until about two years ago I had never heard of a silent heart attack. My Endocrinologist (my diabetic boot camp drill Sgt.) had sent me to see a cardiologist for some test after having pains in my chest and jaw. They did a heart catheterisation and determined that the stress test results that had indicated the need for this procedure was a false positive. It was when we were discussing these results that I mentioned my concern about not being able to trust any symptoms I might have in the future. That is when she informed me that as a diabetic there is a very good chance that I would have a silent heart attack instead.

She peaked my curiosity and I did my research to found out all I could on this subject. Unlike your normal run of the mill heart attack, this silent version can cause severe damage to the heart without any signs or symptoms. Due to the lack of oxygen to the heart during a heart attack the heart tissues of that area dies and causes the damage to the heart and in turn the chest pains and numbness to the hand. With the silent heart attack these symptoms may not occur due to the death of nerves around the heart. Nerve damage can be very common in diabetics.

This type of heart attack is often referred to as the 'Silent Killer' because the symptoms are usually so mild they go unnoticed and undiagnosed. Some of the symptoms you might look for would be:

Mild discomfort in the chest
Shortness of breath
Sleep disturbance
Increased fatigue
Prolonged abdominal pain
Heart Burn
Clammy feel to the skin
Dizziness
Nausea

The bottom line would be that even mild symptoms should be promptly checked out.

May your blessings be many and your heart filled with love.